Skip to main content

Dropped my mac. Gray display on startup.

Hi all,

I am chandrasekar from India.

I have a MacBook Pro 17"(A1261) which i got in 2007. It was working fine since it suffered a nasty fall recently after which it wouldnt boot. I took it to apple who quoted an equivalent of $2000 for the repair! I then took it to a local technician who tried his hand and now, on powering up, I am able to hear the startup chime but I am met with a plain gray screen(no apple logo).

I tried resetting pram etc. doesn't seem to work.

I inserted the leopard disk. Nothing happened and I am not able to eject the disk.

Targeted firewire mode is not working. the MBP is not getting detected on my mac pro.

My Capslock key is lighting up but volume, brightness et all don't function.

I have to keep the power connected for the laptop to startup. I can hear the internals working by keeping my ears close to the system.

Please help me diagnose this problem. Thanks in advance!

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

Is this a good question?

Score 2
2 Comments

What did Apple say it was? What did the local tech do? Googling chandrasekar reveils very little

by

Sorry for leaving out the details. Apple told me I had to basically replace my logic board, display, battery and hard disk :). I doubted their call, which is why i took it to my local tech. He removed and reassembled everything and now as i said, I am getting a grey display with the startup chime. The local person also told me that the logic board was fine. But I again don't know how far I can trust him. How do I find out where the problem is? Where I live(Chennai, India), there aren't many people who know how to properly service/fix a mac. I can post pics if you want. Thanks!

by

Add a comment

3 Answers

Chosen Solution

To isolate the problem hook it up to an external monitor and tell us what you get. To check your hard drive, try booting into Target Mode by hooking it up to anther Intel processor Mac via a firewire cable and starting up holding down the "T" key on your machine. The hard drive icon should appear on the other Mac. You can now run Disk Utilities on it.

Was this answer helpful?

Score 3

3 Comments:

Thanks for the reply!Targeted disk mode did not work. Nothing is showing up on the host machine(mac pro). Will try connecting an external display and post the results.

by

Hi, Sorry about the delay. I tried connecting the MBP to a 30" inch cinema display, and it is simply blank but the light at the bottom of the display is glowing on connecting it to the MBP. But there is an improvement now. I tried the targeted firewire mode again but this time holding the T key for a longer period(about 3-5 mins) and suddenly the firewire icon popped on the display of my macbook(it keeps moving around). I am attaching a link to the picture below. However, the disk did not show up on the host mac pro in disk utilities. Another thing I noticed was that the caps lock key glows only on connecting the firewire cable to the mac pro and not when i start it normally.

Here is the link to the photo. this gives me a lot of hope, since this is the first time I am seeing something on the display since the fall.

http://imgur.com/8OP6o

by

The fact that you are getting the firewire icon is great. It means you probably don't have any screen problems. First try booting holding down the mouse button - to see if you can eject the optical disk. Next pull the hard drive, put it in the other machine and use you system install disk to reformat it and reinstall a system. Then put the drive back in, disconnect the optical drive and try it. Next connect the optical drive. Let us know your results or any place along the line that it fails.

by

Add a comment

I am unsure trying to reinstall is the best next step. I am having the same problem however my mouse shows up when I try to "option+boot" for the boot menu. Nothing else shows up.

Don't forget some other options apple has listed.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570

Reset the NVRAM / PRAM

Resetting PRAM and NVRAM --> Shut down the computer.

Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R.

You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.

Turn on the computer.

Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.

Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.

Release the keys.

Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values.

The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models.

Let us know what this does for you.

Scott

Was this answer helpful?

Score 0

1 Comment:

Scott, to avoid confusion please copy and paste this into a new question. Thanks

by

Add a comment

my macbook pro was dropped sometime back, BUT all the functions have been working well SINCE THEN. but as of late, it brings lines half way the screen on START UP , and only when i gently touch and squeeze the middle on the left side of the screen do the lines vanish.

what can i do in order for the lines to go completely?

PETER

Was this answer helpful?

Score 0
Add a comment

Add your answer

chunder will be eternally grateful.
View Statistics:

Past 24 Hours: 0

Past 7 Days: 0

Past 30 Days: 2

All Time: 9,598